Oh man, where have the years gone...

Oh man, where have the years gone.  I started a new blog following my design adventures, but I found that time does not allow for me to partake in my design projects for now.  So I couldn't decide where to continue my blogging.  I've found myself back here, where it all started.  A push, a desire, a drive I never experienced until I became a mother. 

Since the last blog I wrote here, I've met amazing people and let amazing people go, I've said goodbye to a dear friend who passed away.  I've been in several relationships, I've grown as a person and a mother.  I've come to know what it is to live in the moment and take things as they come.  I've come to understand the meaning of being a parent and loving someone to the deepest depths of your soul.  I am so proud of the amazing, smart, beautiful little girl that I am raising.  She is without a doubt the reason for my being.  I strive every day to make her proud.  Nothing in my life was worth it, before her. 

This past September, Emma and I both embarqed on new journies.  We bought Emma a backpack, new clothes and prepared for her new adventure.  My baby started kindergarten.  That very same day, I started my own adventure.  Nursing (and it's forerunner, Nursing School) has been a dream of mine for so long... it was finally my time to make that dream a reality.  A reality that will provide me and my daughter with the stability to build and live a comfortable life. 

Fast forward to today: 

My princess is a little over a month away from turning six.  Six years old?!  How could that possibly be.  In her short life, we've come so far.   She's learned so much and is wise beyond her years.  She knows how to comfort others and how to express herself.  She is learning and growing by leaps and bounds.  I'm proud of all that she has accomplished and even more proud of the beautiful young girl I am raising. 

I, however, am now in my second semester of nursing school, and I must say it has been one of the best and worst roller coaster rides of my life.  But like you hear often; nothing worth while in life is easy.  My med/surg 1 final is on Monday, and I'm scared to death.  I've never been 'borderline' in anything in life.  This semester has surely tested me in that aspect.  Here I sit, with a borderline test average; leaving room for doubt and worry as passing this class comes down to the score I earn on this last exam.   All I can do is pray.  Pray that my hard work will pay off.  Pray that I've studied the right material.  Pray that this is the path I should be taking.  Pray for peace and calm nerves come test time.  Pray for my friends (that are more like family) as they take this test as well.  We've come this far... I'd like to take the next leap. 


There are lots of bits and pieces to the story of the past few years, and although I'd love to catch you up, I think the important stuff is yet to come. :-)  Life never ceases to amaze me. 

Until next time...

Almost Halloween... and turning a new page :-)

I can't believe it's almost the end of October.. already! SOO much stuff has changed in the past few months, and I'm pretty excited to be facing these changes.

Emma has grown leaps and bounds, and I'm more proud of her today then I was yesterday. Today Emma will start daycare full time. I'm nervous, but she's as excited as ever. She told me yesterday.. the BEST part of going to daycare is she gets to take a nap!! But yet at home, I had to bribe her to sit down for two minutes.. weird! HAHA!

The reason Emma will be going to daycare full time is because I finally entered the 'real' world and got a full time DAY shift job! As bittersweet as it is, my last day at Waynesboro was on Friday. I will deffinitely miss the ER staff that I've grown to love, but I know that this will be a good change. A hard adjustment, but a good change none the less. I have the first day jitters -- hence the reason I'm awake at 0428 and I dont have to be to work til 8:30. As long as I remain positive, I'm sure I will make this transition smoothly. Keep your fingers crossed for me, okay? :-)

James and I changed the custody arrangement around, and I'll be filing an addendum to that this week, along with our divorce papers.. FINALLY. As much as I hate 'failing' at something, I'm so glad I was strong enough to stand up to him and leave him. This divorce deffinitely will be celebrated. :-)

Hmmm.. what else.. I met the most amazing guy the other night. It was kind of crazy. Plans fell through for my visit to the Williamsport KOA Haunted House and I was complaining to this guy Zack (that I had never met) that I wasn't going to get to go and yadda yadda yadda. Next thing I know Zack called and said he'd take me, did I want to meet him or him pick me up. So I gave him my address and he came and got me. He was the sweetest thing ever. There wasn't much in the way of akward silence, and he even opened doors for me. I wasn't so sure about the whole haunted house for a first date thing.. but it seemed to go over pretty well. It gave us a reason to laugh and pick on each other (okay, him picking on me more than anything -- but I'm a good sport!). After that we headed to BreakAway II's for a couple drinks and to talk some more. Then we came home and watched Nightmare on Elm Street. And the date ended with a promise to see each other again. :-) Pretty good first date if I do say so myself!

What's to come? Wednesday is trick-or-treat at the Mall, so I think I'll take Em to that. Thursday's Waynesboros trick-or-treat, so we'll participate in that. Then it'll be Thanksgiving before ya know it..and Christmas not too long after that. My lease is up in the house in January at which time I'll be moving back to my parents house. Long term temporary move. I'll probably be at my parents house until I'm done school. No biggie... Lots is happening in our lives right now. And they're all good changes. :-)

Oh and a few pictures from pumpkin carving experience...

Until next time ♥

Another Day..

And it's August... already! I can't believe it!

We took the kids (Jen, Tiff & I took Ry, Landon & Em) to Hershey Park a few weeks ago -- What a blast! It was pretty stressful to start with, but ended up being a really good day.

I'm hoping to have some money together to go see my cousin and her family for a few days at the begining of September. So lets keep our fingers crossed. It will be my only chance to go back to the beach this summer after Holly and I's eventful day at OC...

I start classes back up on the 23rd, and I'm actually excited about it! I think I'll pick up my books this evening after I get home from work... (I only work 1:30-3:30 -- but every hour counts right?). I still could really use a part time job.. but I want something thats going to be here in town. I dont want to drive -- because thats miserable! I really wish I could just figure out how to make some money via my invitations. *sigh* maybe someday.

Em is as crazy as ever! And learning more and more every day! I can't believe in two short years, my princess will be starting kindergarten. How insane.

Well I should get myself moving, I will write again soon.

Until next time ♥

Summer is passing by quickly

Gingers wedding is a day in the past, my little flower girl got a bit of stage fright and I ended up walking her down the aisle. What a shame. But she was absolutely precious.. check it out.

So whats been up since then? A friend of mine moved in with Em and I. So I packed up Em's bedroom, reassembled the toddler bed, rearranged my room to incorporate my kiddo and her toys. Jen seems to be adjusting, I'm sure it's not easy. Life with a 3 year old.. is deffinitely not easy. lol. I'm sure most days she'd like to pack up and go back to her old life... I remember what it was like to leave behind everything you ever knew in life. I remember how hard that was. I feel so bad that she's going through that right now, but I guess all I can do is be a friend and be here when she needs me. Really - I enjoy the company. It's nice to come home knowing that someone is or will be here at some point. It's just not so lonely.

I had an advising appointment with the nursing advisor at HCC - With all luck, I hope to be starting nursing classes in January. Keep your fingers crossed for me. If everything falls in to place and I start classes in January then I will be able to look forward to placing R.N. after my name in December 2013. Gosh that seems so far away... but I guess it's really not.

Tiff and I took the girls for a little photoshoot at Renfrew on Friday -- gosh we had a blast! :) The girls even cooperated, for most of it! Check out some of the pics :)

I can't believe how quickly the summer is passing by -- I haven't had the money to half the things I wanted to do this summer, but I'll keep on trying. I know that life isn't always going to be easy, but as long as I have Em, and I keep good company, it can only get better.

Besides, good things fall apart so better things can fall together ;).

Sweet Summertime ♥

I'm getting good at this once a month thing -- sorry! lol.

Anyways, things are going pretty well on the home front. It's still just Em and I. I love the house, but it does tend to get kind of lonely. I would really love a roommate... but no takers on that thus far.

I have my eyes open for some kind of part time job to go along with my job in the ER. If anyone knows of any in the area -- let me know! I REALLY need a full time job, but I'm having trouble giving up the ER position. It's all I've known for years, and I have really come to love the people I work with.

So yesterday was supposed to have been Gingers bachelorette party... but she didn't come. Andi and I put alot of time, money, thought and effort in to that party to make it nice for her. And I even made a pig cake! She said she had 'too much to do'. Ouch. Then we were still gonna have the party.. and just have a good time, and the only one to show up besides Andi and I was Juanita. God bless her. So the three of us enjoyed our burgers, margaritas (ok only andi and i had margaritas!), and swimming! But here are pictures of my pig cake, that turned out amazing! I guess I should add cakes to my list of 'can dos' for my party planning adventure ;).

all the pig 'parts'

Assembling the pig

After the buttercream icing =)

And then the fondant =)

Final project ♥

So seriously, if anyone needs a cake done -- let me know. I wont charge much =) Oh and dont forget that I do invitations for birthday parties, showers (bridal/baby/bachelorette), holidays, Thank you cards, birth announcements, etc. $10 for a design with 1 picture. $1 for each additional picture! I can print them here at home on cardstock for extra cost.

Anyways, I better call this update finnished.. and go get ready for my fun filled day of reception hall decorating and such. The only thing I look forward to is seeing my little girl all dressed up tomorrow. Rediculous, eh?

Hope the weekend goes well for everyone ♥

New Job = Sucks

Okay, so this is just going to be a short little vent. I haaaaate my job at old navy. I absolutely hate it. I would put my notice in tonight if I could. What sucks even more? The girl that trained me is leaving (saturday is her last day), and the only other girl I've become friends with is giving her notice tonight. LAME! The only thing that is going to possibly save me is the fact that I have an interview tomorrow at the hospital for an occasional phlebotomist. Keep your fingers crossed for me. The pay would be DOUBLE. So that means I would only have to work half what I am now. =)

If I get the other position at the hospital, it will of course, be in addition to what i already work at the hospital. What does this mean. No more travel time to and from work. More time with Emma.. and chances are, more time with Brad. =) whew.

Ok. Rambling over. I'll write more tomorrow =)

♥

And the days just pass us by...

Time just doesn't slow down. I can't believe in 3 short days my little girl will be turning 3 years old! She's deffinitely the reason for everything I do. I strive to make her proud of me. On the flip side, I'm soo proud of everything my angel does. =) Her daddy was supposed to sign her up today for t-ball.. so I guess practices and games are in our near future :) I'm sure she's going to love it!

I'm becoming more comfortable being at the house alone. What a big adjustment! It's deffinitely going to be a good thing for me though. My own place, my own rules.

:) I finally got a second job! I start the new job on Sunday the 18th. Where you ask? Old Navy :) :) :) I'm excited about meeting new people and just doing something different for a while. And who would complain about the discounts :)

Em's birthday party is on the 17th, I'm so excited! :) Strawberry Shortcake themed! Amber is makin the cake for us, and I have most of the goodies.. now for the grocery shopping. :) I'll post pictures after the party! :)

I'm glad I'm out of that bad rut I had been in. This is deffinitely going to be one of the best summers EVER!

I'll keep ya posted as life unfolds.

♫ ♥ There's a new smile on my face and a brand new light in my eyes, It's a new day and I've never felt so alive ♫ ♥